Val Lewton’s The Seventh Victim is one of those films that has all the ingredients for greatness, an eerie premise, shadow-drenched cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca, and a mystery steeped in paranoia, yet somehow manages to feel oddly inert. At just 71 minutes, it should move like a sharp little shocker, but instead it wanders, circling…
Tag: mystery
Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) – Review
From Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce to Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, cinema has produced no shortage of takes on the world’s most famous detective and his steadfast companion, Dr. Watson. Some versions stick closely to Conan Doyle’s text, while others sprint off in their own, more enthusiastic directions. Then, in 1985, Barry Levinson…
Baffled! (1971) – Review
This early ’70s offering finds the legendary Leonard Nimoy taking a sharp detour from the logical world of Mr. Spock into the misty realm of ESP, supernatural visions, and swinging ’70s mysticism. I give you the startling, strange movie Baffled!
The Shadow Strikes (1937) – Review
Writer Walter B. Gibson originally created The Shadow to be nothing more than the “spooky” announcer for a radio drama series, with its sole purpose to boost sales for a flagging pulp magazine, but listeners became so intrigued with the character that they start demanding stories featuring this mysterious figure, and thus a crime-fighting legend…
House of Horrors (1946) – Reviews
During the 1940s Universal Pictures decided to launch a new series of low-budget films featuring actor Rondo Hatton as “The Creeper” and the best of those films would be House of Horrors. Produced by Ben Pivar and directed by Jean Yarbrough, this film starred the original “Monster Without Make-up” as The Creeper!